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Masks, hand sanitizer and wine have been the best way to navigate through this year of 2020. But before we get to details of this crazy ass year - HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  Darrin spent forever working on the witch pattern while Charley carved her first pumpkins with an assist from Gaga. The white ghost was her own creation. The little one was tough. Face masks are the universal fashion statement of the Year of Covid.    |
Our travel plans were no match for Covid-19.
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| Early March trip to Italy - CANCELLED |
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| April trip to Georgia & Alabama - CANCELLED |
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| May - June Carnival Cruise - CANCELLED |
Instead of lots of fun trips our life became a never ending ordeal of sheltering in place, washing and sanitizing hands, wearing face coverings and "social distancing". Initially only grocery shopping and medical appointments were allowed. Everything else was closed!
When our Italy trip was cancelled the day of departure, we booked flights to New Mexico the next week before that closed down.
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| The Sandia Peak Tram closed two days after we rode it to the top of the mountain. |
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| My two sweeties! |
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| The four of us enjoying the "beautiful view" of Albuquerque from Sandia Peak. |
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| Old Town was more of a ghost town. |
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| This outing turned out to be our last sit down restaurant meal for the next several months. |
The following day we hiked in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains just a few blocks from Darrin and Charley's house in Albuquerque.
Remember when "Zoom" was what you said when your car went fast? In the year of 2020 it was how we celebrated birthdays and family "gatherings". Notice that in two of the get togethers Charley's Descendant dolls had to join in the conversation. Darrin set them up with the iPad in the kitchen while they were on the laptop.
Unfortunately, the summer pool parties never happened much to everyone's dismay. The pool (and both of us!) missed the squealing delight of Charley leaping off the side a hundred times. The flamingo and unicorn floaties will have to wait until next year to be inflated again.
Face masks of every size, shape and color are now for sale everywhere. An enterprising woman was selling handmade masks in a Safeway parking lot. Entrepreneurism is alive and well in the U.S.!
Not only are we in the middle of an unprecedented pandemic but we have dealt with weeks of wildfires and smoke in California, national racial unrest AND a president who is a raving lunatic incapable of leading himself out of a paper bag, let alone our country. This shirt pretty well sums it up for me.
In June when Yosemite National Park opened up on a reduced basis, Lou and I managed to snag one of the limited entry passes and made our first overnight trip in months (except New Mexico). It's Lou's favorite place in the world and you certainly can't beat the incredible scenery.
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| The view from Glacier Point. |
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| Tunnel View, one of my favorites, with El Capitan, Half Dome and Bridal Veil Falls. |
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| Valley View, with the Merced River in the foreground, is another favorite view to take in. |
Visiting Charley is "essential travel" to Gaga. As soon as it opened up, I booked flights. I'm pro at it now after seven trips and counting. With the precautions of requiring masks, leaving center seats open and the top of the line air filtration systems, I feel safer in an airplane than I do in a grocery store. Seeing my son and granddaughter is the best medicine!
Of course, in between actual visits, I'm thankful for FaceTime and Messenger. At least it gives you a little visual contact but virtual hugs are not even close to the real thing! Louie and Charley had fun with the goofy face things on Messenger. Charley snapped lots of screen shots of them!
It has certainly been a crazy year! Never in my lifetime has there been anything like this. I hope and pray that 2021 will turn out to be a hell of a lot better than 2020. I'm sure it sounds like a broken record by now, but the one thing we can all do is make sure to GET OUT THERE AND VOTE!
AND DON'T FORGET TO OPEN THAT BOTTLE OF WINE AND ENJOY A GLASS, OR TWO, OR THREE!
My intent was keep this post fairly light with all the crap going on in the world this year but I would be remiss if I didn't mention that we lost Lou's sister, Judy, to this horrible virus this past August. She had a lot of health issues but she was a true fighter up until the very end. Rest in peace, Judy.
